Mango Tree
by suddenexplosions
Summary: Lucy Fabray spends her summers alone with her grandparents in Florida, never expecting to meet any friends. That is, until she meets Rachel Berry. Sonfic- "Mango Tree" by Angus & Julia Stone.


A/N: I wrote this for my wonderful friend, Jamie. This is an incredibly late birthday present for her (I promise I will finish your other present some day).

Also, I'm sorry if you find any mistakes. I have to get to class so no time for editing. I hope you all enjoy~

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><p>As a child, Lucy would spend her summers in Winter Haven, Florida with her grandparents. They lived on one of Winter Haven's many lakes, which gave Lucy more than enough opportunities to explore. Her grandparents also sometimes treated her to see some water skiing tournaments, and even some day trips to Orlando. There was also a mango tree in her grandparent's backyard that was somewhat secluded from the numerous other trees. One of Lucy's favorite things to do was to climb the tree, sometimes with a book or binoculars, and imagine she was an explorer. When she climbed that tree, her imagination knew no limits. It was safe to say that her summers with her grandparents were definitely the highlight of her year.<p>

Lucy was a curious six year old. She was curious of the world and spent a lot of her time sitting in her grandpa's chair surrounded by books. She wasn't the best at reading, and usually just looked at the pictures, but every now and then she would try and read up on whatever she was looking at. She loved watching the Discovery and Science channels, even if she didn't understand most of what was being said. Lucy also enjoyed what other six year olds enjoyed, like the occasional coloring book and Saturday morning cartoons.

Back home, Lucy had no friends. She never got the chance to. Before she could even get a 'hello' out most kids were giving her funny looks and whispering to their own friends, snickering under their breath. 'Four eyes' and 'fatty' haunted her mind most days, and tears helped her get to sleep most nights. She didn't understand why her classmates treated her this way, especially when she knew that she had a lot in common with a lot of the kids in her class. Lucy knew that she liked stars and planets just like Aaron, or that she liked dancing and singing like Jane, or even that she liked to switch the colors around in her coloring book, (making a princess' dress blue instead of pink, the horse orange instead of brown, etc.) like Katie. Instead people called her names and made her feel horrible, and Lucy just backed down and kept to herself.

Lucy was fairly quiet for her age, which meant that not very many people knew her in Winter Haven, and the people that did included her grandparents and their friends. Sometimes when Lucy was on one of her adventures around the lake she would see kids that were around her age. She usually didn't say anything to them unless they asked her to join them in whatever it was they were doing. She didn't mind that people didn't know her. It was almost a relief to be in a place where no one knew her or the things that people knew her as. It was another one of her favorite things about spending time with her grandparents.

It was a Saturday morning and Lucy was on one of her adventures. Today she was pretending to be an astronaut, jumping around every now and then and avoiding 'craters'. Sometimes she would bring her thumb up to her ear, her pinky by her mouth, and pretend to call mission control and update them on her findings. Her findings included rocks, sticks, and a few assortment of flowers and plants, some of which were 'alien-made' weapons and items'. This was also the morning she thought she discovered and alien.

"What are you doing?"

Lucy froze in her spot, her pretend phone against her ear and her other arm holding her findings. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she knew that she had been caught. Slowly Lucy turned around, lowering her hand from her face. Her eyes met the dark chocolate eyes of another girl who was shorter than her. Her hair was dark and matched her eyes. She also had a yellow headband in her hair to match the yellow dress that had white polka dots and white Mary Jane's. There was a pink plastic camera slung around her neck that had probably been bedazzled by the girl. She was very pretty, and Lucy was a little embarrassed in her shorts, tennis shoes, and black Hello Kitty shirt.

"I, uh," she brought a finger to her face, pushing her glasses up along her nose.

"Are you playing pretend?" The shorter girl was kind of bossy, but the kind of bossy that meant she was just curious.

Lucy nodded slowly as she looked at the ground, pushing a rock around with the tip of her shoe. She was trying to prepare herself for the worst, while also wishing that the worst wouldn't come. "Yeah, I was pretending to be an astronaut," Lucy muttered almost inaudibly.

The other girl took a few steps closer until she was in front of Lucy. She inspected some of the things that Lucy had collected, before raising her eyebrows like she was impressed. She turned around and started walking before she motioned for Lucy to follow. "There's some berries over here, and I have a 'container'," she emphasized quotes with her fingers, "at my house that we can use."

Lucy was a little dumbfounded and hesitated before running after the other girl, trailing just behind her. They walked a short distance before the other girl stopped and Lucy almost ran right into her. She turned around and offered Lucy a hand, "My name is Rachel Berry, by the way."

Lucy wiped her hand on the side of her shorts, not wanting to get Rachel's hand dirty, "I'm Lucy Fabray." Rachel smiled at Lucy, and she couldn't help the happiness that started to burst from within her.

"You should let mission control know we're going to head back soon." She leaned in closer to Lucy, lowering her voice to a whisper, not wanting to 'break character', "Where is mission control?"

Lucy couldn't help but giggle at how seriously Rachel was taking their game of pretend, "It's the mango tree behind my grandparent's house." She turned and pointed in the opposite direction of where they were walking, "Back that way." Rachel smiled again and they hurried to find the berries and bucket.

On their way back to Lucy's grandparent's house, she carried the bucket in her left hand and Rachel's hand in her right. She liked that Rachel already liked her enough to want to hold her hand. It was something Lucy had seen amongst other friends in her class, and she always wondered what it was like. She knew now that it was one of the best feelings in the world.

Rachel soon forgot about their game of pretend, and started talking about her dads (which Lucy thought was actually kind of cool and wanted to know more), her love for singing, dancing, "the broad complexity and beauty of space", making her own pictures in her coloring books by switching the colors around (and sometimes turning them into comics), reading, musicals, and plays. She told Lucy that one day she would be on Broadway in New York City where she would become famous and win lots of awards. Rachel talked like she was very sure of everything, and it gave Lucy a newfound sense of confidence. It was different, and Lucy really liked that.

Back at mission control, Lucy started to climb up to the spot in the tree where one of the tree limbs was bent just enough to where she could lean against it and prop her feet up on the tree trunk. Rachel did a little bit of her own exploring around the tree, bringing her camera up to her face and taking a few pictures. She noticed Lucy's position in the tree and was intrigued. She snapped a picture of a completely oblivious Lucy sorting through the bright red bucket, who was imagining what some of the items would look like if they had found them in space. At the sound of the camera click, Lucy looked up at the camera that was still pointed at her, and she could feel the warmth spreading across her cheeks. She quickly looked back to the bucket, hoping that Rachel didn't notice. The giggle from the shorter girl told her otherwise, and it only made her feel more embarrassed.

"Your cheeks almost match the bucket," Rachel giggled, as she started to climb up the tree, careful that her dress didn't get caught. She found a branch to stand on, and another to lean over so she was just above Lucy. Even with Lucy's embarrassment, she couldn't hide her happiness even if she tried. For the first time in her life, she knew she had made a friend.

Rachel came around to Lucy's grandparent's house almost daily. The two were always doing something different, and Rachel always had her camera with her.

One Wednesday afternoon, the two girls were lounging around on the mango tree, pink lemonades in their hands and stories on their tongues.

"We should take a picture with Winston," Rachel suggested in one of their moments of comfortable silence. She had suggested the name for the tree a few weeks prior, stating that it was a smart name, and they were smart girls that did smart things. Lucy didn't have any complaints, and thought it was fitting despite Rachel's silly argument about it.

Lucy looked up at where Rachel was leaning over the tree branch in her spot. "How are we going to do that?"

"My camera has a timer on it. I'll set it and run over before it takes the picture," Rachel stated like it was the greatest thing in the world. Lucy thought it was a pretty awesome feature. The smaller girl started to climb down the tree, and Lucy knew that she had already made up her mind. There was no use in arguing with Rachel once she made up her mind, so Lucy climbed down too.

Rachel grabbed a foldable chair on the porch and brought it over by the tree. Carefully she placed her camera on the seat of the chair, squatting down behind the chair so she could align the camera with the tree and change the settings. "Get ready," Rachel stated before she grinned widely and ran over to Lucy, who was sitting with her legs crossed against the tree. The brunette wrapped her arm around Lucy's and leaned into her. Rachel's smile was contagious, and she found herself smiling almost as widely as her friend. After a few seconds she heard a click and Rachel was up by the camera again. Lucy would never admit it, but she kind of missed the closeness with her friend.

It was almost like Rachel had read her mind. When Lucy looked up again, the brunette was kneeling next to her with barely any distance between them. "Can I borrow your glasses?"

Lucy suddenly felt very nervous and unsure. The last time this had happened her shoelaces had been tied together and she had tripped into a puddle of mud that was surrounded by laughing kids, pointed fingers, and taunting words. But this was Rachel, with the big words and dreams. Rachel with her big brown eyes and her perfect hair and matching clothes. Rachel who was kind and nice, and spent a good portion of her summer with Lucy, showing no signs of ulterior motives.

Lucy brought her fingers over the frames of her glasses, hesitating as she brought her bottom lip between her teeth. "I won't be able to see without them," Lucy muttered, fear evident in her voice.

"I just want to take a few more pictures," Rachel stated, her voice was softer and reassured the other girl. "All you have to do is sit here while I get the camera ready."

Uncertainty was written all over the other girl's face as she looked over at Rachel. She wanted to trust the brunette, but she found a force within her holding her back. Lucy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she slowly slipped the glasses off of her face. When she opened them again, her world was a fuzzy, smudged blob of colors and objects. Rachel was just close enough to where Lucy could make up fuzzy features. She didn't know how the other girl managed to still look pretty, but she did.

Rachel breathed out a 'thanks' before she ran over to her camera again. Lucy could only make out Rachel because of her bright yellow shirt, but it didn't reassure her. She gripped the hem of her shirt tightly in her hands and twisted and pulled, looking around and making sure that people weren't sneaking up on her (not that she could really see them anyway).

Lucy's breath got caught in her throat as Rachel sat back down, wrapping her hand around the nervous girl's shaky one. Without thinking, Lucy let go of her shirt, and their fingers intertwined easily. The brunette brought her other hand over Lucy's, and she could feel herself feeling better with each passing moment. Rachel nudged her as if to remind her to get ready for the picture.

"Can I have you?" Rachel asked, her voice almost inaudible. Lucy wasn't sure if she heard the question correctly, and even if she did, it was a strange question. Then again, they were both strange girls. Rachel only leaned closer, whispering the same question.

Lucy didn't really know how to respond. She figured that Rachel meant that she wanted Lucy as her best friend, and the thought made her lips curve into a large grin. She didn't really know what to say, so she said the first thing that she could think of. She said, "You do".

_Click._

Rachel giggle quietly, turning back to Lucy, "I bet this is what it's like not to have your glasses on."

A quiet laugh escaped Lucy, and she nodded shyly. She couldn't bring herself to look over at Rachel because she really didn't like not being able to see something that she wanted to see.

Rachel's hand quickly, and easily slipped out of Lucy's, and before she could question it, her glasses were carefully being placed on her nose. Lucy sighed with relief as she looked up at Rachel, who was standing in front of her now. The brunette offered her hand, and Lucy gladly took it, allowing Rachel to help her up.

"Thanks," Lucy muttered, as she followed Rachel over to the camera. The brunette gave her this grin that was magical and so full of love, Lucy couldn't help but fight the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach and smile back. It was a smile that she had never seen on the brunette before, but it was one that she would start seeing as Rachel started to spend more and more time with her.

As Rachel changed the camera back to its original settings, Lucy folded the chair and put it back where her friend had found it. Soon Rachel was on the porch with her, stating excitedly, "I can't wait until daddy takes me to get these developed. I'll make sure to get extra copies so you can have some too!"

Lucy was still feeling shy and overwhelmed, so she just smiled back and nodded excitedly. She had never had a friend like Rachel before or a best friend in general. Lucy couldn't remember ever feeling so great about herself, and she had Rachel to thank for that.

"Want to go play?" Lucy asked, feeling a little more confident. "We can take my bike and tie the wagon onto it, and then we can go to the playground on the other side of the lake!" Lucy almost never made suggestions for things to do, leaving most of the planning and decision making to Rachel. The brunette nodded enthusiastically, giving Lucy that extra special smile.

Soon Princess Rachel and her trusty knight and driver, Lucy the Brave, were on their way to the princess' castle. They brought the finest pink lemonade and apple slices (courtesy of Lucy's fairy godmother) with them, and magical chalk.

As the two approached the playground, Rachel talked to Lucy about how she was going to promote her to a princess when they got to the castle. "The kingdom needs more beautiful princesses," she had said, and Lucy was once again without words to express herself.

"I've never been a princess before," Lucy stated as she continued to pedal down the path.

"Really?" It sounded like Rachel couldn't really believe it. She thought all girls her age were princesses in at least some of their games of pretend.

Lucy just shook her head, turning into the empty parking lot at the playground. She quickly slipped off her steed and walked over to the side of the carriage, offering a hand to help her princess.

Rachel raised her eyebrows slightly at Lucy, before she gave her a reassuring smile. The brunette quickly snapped a picture of her trusty knight before grabbing Lucy's hand and stepping gracefully out of her carriage. "Thank you, Sir Lucy," she giggled before grabbing that bucket of magical chalk and finding a spot on the pavement to draw. When Lucy grabbed her drink and bag of apple slices she went over to Rachel. She sat down just as the brunette was adding yellow crowns to the first letter of each other their names.

_Princess Lucy and Rachel_

Lucy watched Rachel draw hearts around both of their names before drawing two stick figures. One had glasses and a purple dress (Lucy's favorite color), and the other was shorter and had a pink dress (Rachel's favorite color). Rachel then drew some clouds, a castle, and a unicorn. Everything from the coloring, to the words was even and neat, just like Rachel.

"See? Now you're a princess just like me!" Rachel looked over at Lucy, she was almost bubbling with excitement and joy. "And if we ever decided to get married, then we could both be queens!" The smile on Lucy's face seemed to be plastered there, and it showed no signs of leaving. She was perfectly okay with that.

The two spent the rest of the afternoon drawing, fighting dragons, exploring, taking pictures of each other, and playing tag. It was the most fun Lucy had ever had in her entire life, and she hoped that there would be more amazing days like this until the end of summer. When the sky started to tint the clouds orange and pink, they both decided to pack up and head back. On the way home they decided to just be Lucy and Rachel.

"Do you want to spend the night?" Lucy asked as they neared her grandparent's house.

"Yes!" There was no hesitation in Rachel's voice, and it was like she had been waiting all day for Lucy to ask. "Well," she paused for a moment, "I have to talk to my dad's first, but I'm sure they'll be okay with it." Lucy turned around to give Rachel a big smile before returning her concentration to her bike. Even if she still had training wheels, she was still careful.

Later that night, the girls situated themselves in the living room that had windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling, and were as wide as the room itself. The windows overlooked the lake, and gave them the best view of the sky. They had a bowl of popcorn and other bowls of snacks between two sleeping bags, and both Lucy and Rachel were propped up on their pillows, drawing pictures in the stars.

Both of them gasped and sat up almost simultaneously. "Did you see that they both," they both asked at the same time, looking at each other. Huge grins spread across their faces.

"I've never seen a shooting star before," Lucy stated in awe, placing her elbow on her knee and resting her chin in her hand.

"Did you make a wish?" Rachel turned her attention back to the sky, hoping to see another.

Lucy only nodded. Of course she had. Rachel was the queen of stars, always saying how she was going to be one and how she wishes on them all the time. "I remembered."

Lucy watched the calm water, admiring the clear, bright reflection of the moon. That's when she saw another gold streak.

"Whoa," Rachel was on her knees now, almost close enough to the glass to press her face against it.

"It's even prettier on the water," Lucy admired.

Rachel's bottom lip stuck out a little as her eyes skimmed over the water, "Aw. I want to see!"

Lucy reassured Rachel that she would stay up with her until she got to see it too, but after an hour or so of watching and talking, she was tired. Lucy stretched and yawned, and the brunette made a noise like she had given up.

"This won't be the last time," Lucy said, smiling at Rachel. "Promise."

A small smile crept across the brunette's lips too. She knew Lucy was right, but it still kind of sucked. "Yeah, okay," Rachel finally gave in, standing up and moving their snacks to the counter before pushing her sleeping bag closer to Lucy's. The other gave her a questioning look, and Rachel almost looked shy and embarrassed, looking down at her feet as she grabbed the flashlight.

"I'm afraid of the dark," Rachel muttered, her voice small. She turned the flashlight on before she flipped the switch on the lamp in the back corner that had given the room a dull glow.

"That's okay," Lucy said as she slipped into her sleeping bag. "Sometimes I get scared too."

Quickly Rachel slipped into her own sleeping bag, scooting closer to Lucy. The other girl couldn't help but giggle. Sometimes Rachel really was a drama queen, but it was silly, and she liked it.

Lucy had her arms over the sleeping bag, resting at her side, and soon Rachel's hand was wrapped around her own. The light from the flashlight went off and Lucy moved her hand so that they could wrap their fingers together.

"Goodnight Princess Lucy. I love you," Rachel muttered quietly. "You're the greatest friend ever."

Lucy's heart raced and it took her a moment to collect herself. She squeezed the hand in her own before turning to where she could barely make out Rachel's figure. "Goodnight Princess Rachel. I love you too." She pulled her glasses off and set them on her other side. "You're my bestest best friend ever."

Rachel giggled quietly, squeezing her fingers around Lucy's as she got comfortable in her sleeping bag. Lucy sighed happily feeling incredibly comfortable despite not liking sleeping bags very much. She loved the way that Rachel made her feel, like she was home. It was a feeling that Lucy never wanted to get tired of. Part of her knew she never would.


End file.
